Improved machine for polishing marble



UNITED STATES kPATENT Ormea.

ASA M. TOMB, OF LYONS, NEW' YORK.

IMPROVED MACHINE FOR POLISHING MARBLE..

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 46,407, dated February14, 1865.

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ASA M. ToMB,ofLyons, in the county of Wayne andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMachines for Polishing Marble and other Stone; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, making part of thisspecification.

Figure l is a plan of my improved machine; Fig. 2, a vertical sectionthereof in the plane of line x x, Fig. l; Fig. 3, a view of one side ofthe carriage for holding the stone with the adjustingholes therein, andalso the device for changing the'motion of the carriage; Fig. 4, a Viewshowing the device for giving motion to the carriage; Fig. 5, a view cfthe crank device for operating the pitman that actuates thepolishing-carriage, Fig. 6, a plan of the apparatus for shifting themotion of the carriage that holds the stone, the posts of theframe beingshown in section of plane y y, Fig. 2; Fig. 7, a diagram representingthe adjustability of the bar or plate that supports the shaft of theshiftingpinion 5 Fig. 8, a view of one of the dogs that retains theshifting bar or plate, and showing its connection with the otheroperating devices, Fig. 9, a perspective view ot the lower end ofthepolishing-shaftthat fits in the socket or head; Fig. l0, a plan of thepolishing socket or head.

Like letters of reference indicate corre-y sponding parts in all thefigures.

As represented in the drawings, A is a suitable bed or support, on whichrests a sliding carriage, B, for supporting the stone to be polished,said carriage being provided with friction-rollers a. c, as usual inordinary carriages for similar or other purposes. This carriage may bemoved forward and back to present the stone properly to the polishingdevice by any suitable device-such, forinstance, as racks I) b-under itsopposite sides, into which gear pinions c c, situated on a shaft, d,Fig. 4, extending out and connected in any suitable manner with thegearing that operates the machine.

On one side of the bed and carriage above described is situated a frame,O, in which is mounted the operating apparatus. Under ordinarycircumstances I design that my improved machine shall be operated byhand. In such case a hand-crank, D, of ordinary construction, is mountedat a suitable position, having secured to its axis a pulley, E, aroundwhich passes a band, F, extending transversely at a proper height overthe carriage B, and passing at the opposite end around a similar pulley,E, whose only office is to keep the band straight and in position. .Thepulley Eis secured to a way or guide, G, substantially of the form shownin Figs. l and 2, which is jointed or hinged at the innerv end, as shownatf, in such a manner that it may be swung around sidewise at pleasure.When fixed, the way or guide is kept in position by means ot.a removablebrace, H, that connects its outer end with one of the posts of theframe. hand-crank D is situated a pinion, g, Fig. l, gearing into acog-wheel, To the outer face of this wheel the end of a pitman, I, isjointed, the opposite end being similarly jointed to a sliding block orcarriage, K, provided with rollers l l, moving on the way or guide G.This sliding block is provided with projections mm, which sustain ashaft, L, having xed pulleys n a in such positions as to correspond withthe vopposite sides of the band F, which is wound once around eachpulley, as shown in Fig. 2. B

this means not only is motion imparted to the shaft by the band, therebyavoiding a complicated arrangement of gearing for the purpose, but, mostimportant, while this effect is produced there is no impediment whateverto the .forward and backward reciprocations of the sliding block K, asthe pulleys u n move freely through the band while it is in motion, theonly effect being' to impart a more rapid revolution to the shaft L bythe combined movement of the band and block, and not to create greatfriction, as would be the case if the band merely came in contact atopposite sides with the pulleys n a and were not wound around them. Inthe latter case, since the two opposite sides of the band move inopposite directions, it is obvious that in coming in con tact with thetwo opposite pulleys the effect would be to counterbalance, andtherefore there would be no revolution of the shaft L. By my arrangementof double pulleys I not only accomplish the free forward and back motionof the sliding block, and give a posi- On the outer end of the axis ofthe' tive and rapid motion to the shaft, but by gearing the band withthe shaft on both sides I am enabled to impart considerable power to theshaft, which is necessary in polishing. I am not aware that such anarrangement as I have above described has ever before been employed, andsuch I consider a novel feature of my invention.

The lower end .of the shaft L terminates in two, three, or .more arms, oo, Fig. 9, which rngage with ahead, M, Figs. 2 and 10, by means of asocket, l?, or equivalent, in its top, provided with correspondingdepressions, q q, made beneath the level of the socket. In this manner,when the head rests upon the stone to be polished, its engagement withthe shaft will cause it to receive a revolving motion, and at the sametime allow it to adapt itself to any inequality in the stone, whichwould not be the case if the head were secured rigidly to the shaft. Inother words, the head has a free and independent action to adapt itselfto any position, while at the same time the revolving motion is securednecessary for polshin g.

The head M is provided with a suitable number of radial arms, as, Fig.10, three only being represented in the drawings. 0n each of these armsslides or adjusts a stationary jaw, t, being fixed in lany desirableposition by means of a set-screw, u. This jaw in turn is provided with asimilar arm, e, at right angles to the other, and on this arm slides amovable jaw, t', which is adjusted out and in at a greater or lessdistance from the other by means of a set of holes, w w, Fig. 2, intoany one of which fits a pin, z. A pressure-screw, a', serves to pressthe tops of the jaws apart, and therefore close their opposite ends,thereby grasping the polishing materialb, which may be a piece ofgrindstone or any other substance employed for polishing.

lt will be seen by the use of this device that I am enabled to adjustthe respective pairs of jaws t t' at varyingr distances from the head,so that each may have a separate path of its own over the stone. Inother words, one pair of jaws vmay be near the head, the next a littlefarther off, and the third still farther. By this means I am enabled topolish the surface uniformly and equally.

On the same shaft with the cog-wheel h, Fig. 1, is situated abevel-pinion, c', gearing with a similar pinion, d', whose shaft c' eX-tends downward, having also a bevel-pinion, f", at its lower end,swinging between pinions g' h', Fig. 2, of the horizontal shaft d, andgearing into either, according to which Vside it stands. rlhe shaft epasses through an adjustingbar or plate, N, Figs. 2, 6, and 7, which hasan end motion of just such extent as will throw pinion j" fromengagement with one pinion, g', to the other, h, and vice versa. By thismeans the direction in which the stone-carriage B moves is reversed,going forward when f' is in engagement with one pinion and backward whenin engagement with the other. The bar N receives this alternate endmovement by means of an inclined cam projection,fi', on its uppersurface, over which rests a shaft, K', having a pin, Z', projecting fromboth sides in thepro'per position.

When turned in one position, the pin strikes on one side of the cam andthrows the bar in one direction, and when turned the opposite way itstrikes on the opposite side of the cam and moves it in the oppositedirection.

Jointed to the posts 4of the frame C a littley distance above the endsof the bar N are dogs O O, Figs. 6 and 8, of just such size that whenthe said bar is thrown to its fullest extent in one direction the dog atthe opposite end will fall down'past the end of the bar and hold it tothat position till the reverse motion is ready to commence, when itrises and the opposite dog falls. The dogs are raised at the desiredmoment by means of cams m' m' on the shaft 7c'.

On one end of the shaft 7c' is a small crank, a', to which is hung aweight, o', and at the other end it is provided with a pinion, q', Figs.3 and 6, which gears into a small cog-rack, fr', that rests close to oneside of the carriage B. This side of the carriage is provided with a set.of adjusting-holes, S' S', Fig. 3, at suitable distance apart, nearlyits whole length, into any of which, on opposite sides of 'the rack r',t, respectively, gage-pins u' u', which, as the carriage moves forwardor backward, strikes against` the end of the rack, thereby moving it inthe same direction, and consequently turning the pinion q' and its shaftla'. As soon as the shaft lo' is' turned sufficiently to carry the crankn' past the dead point, the weight o will throwit over, thereby movingthe bar N endwise by the means before described, and changing the gearof the pinion f' from one to another of the pinions g h'. By this means,changing the pins u' u' from one position to another in the holes S' S',it will be perceived that the length of stroke of the carriage B may bemade longer or shorter, according to the length of the stone required tobe polished, and that the said carriage is automatic in itsreciprocations.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The arrangement and combination of the sliding block K, way Gr, shaftL, double pulleys a n, and the band F, wound 4around said pulleys onopposite sides, in such a manner that while said sliding block isallowed a free reciprocating motion without unusual friction the shaftis revolved by the band, substantially as herein set forth.

2. The hinged way Gr, so arranged as to swing aside to enable the stoneto be adjusted 011 the carriage, and to serve as the guide to thesliding block K, substantially as herein described.

3. The polishing device consisting of the head M, radial arms S S, andjaws t t, so arranged that each set of jaws can be adjusted at varyingdistances from the head, substantial] y as and for the purpose hereinspecified.

4. Connecting the head M with the shaftL by means of the depressions g qq and arms o o in such a manner as to produce afree joint, so that thepolishing' device will adapt itself to the surface of the stone,substantially as herein described.

5. Shifting the engagement of the pinion f with the pinion g h by meansof the bar N, provided with cam i', the dogs O O, and the shaft k',provided with the pins l', crank and weight n 0, and cams m m', thewhole arlran ged, combined, and operating substantially as herein setforth.

6. The holes S S in the carriage B, and the shifting-pins u u', Whenused in combination with the rack r', pinion q', and shaft k', forgaging the stroke of the carriage to the length of the stone,substantially as herein set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

ASA M. TOMB. Witnesses R. F. OsGooD, JNO. L. JUDsoN.

